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Legal Information Institute
What Legal Information Institute is
The Legal Information Institute (LII) publishes legal information online at no charge and creates material to help the public understand it. Its web collections include the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, state regulations, Supreme Court opinions, and federal rules. The site enriches government-published legal data by identifying, extracting, annotating, and indexing its features. Explanatory resources include Wex, Supreme Court Bulletin previews, and case summaries in the Gender Justice Collection. Users can search case law and statutes and regulations, read commentary, and use citation tools. Read It Online takes a formal case citation and provides links to free and paid judicial-opinion resources. LII also offers Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, a free Bluebook alternative maintained by co-founder Professor Peter Martin. State regulations from all 50 states and Washington, DC are available with enhanced features. Its coverage includes U.S. federal law, all 50 states, and selected world law. LII was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Ithaca, New York. It does not provide legal advice or personalized research help.
Who it suits
LII suits members of the public looking for legal texts, case law, regulations, citation tools, or explanatory legal material. It is not a source of legal advice or personalized research assistance.
What it does well
- Public legal collections are available free of charge.
- Covers federal law and all 50 states.
- Includes case law, regulations, commentary, and citation tools.
- Read It Online resolves formal case citations.
- Offers free Introduction to Basic Legal Citation.
What to know first
- Does not provide legal advice or interpretations.
- Does not offer personalized research or school-project help.
- Coverage includes only selected world law.
Limits
LII's free access plan costs nothing. The service does not provide legal advice, interpretations of law, or personalized help with legal research or school projects.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free access | Legal information and collections available to the public free of charge | Free |
As law.cornell.edu lists them, read 4 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Visit https://www.law.cornell.edu/.
- Browse the legal collections or search case law and statutes and regulations.
- Use Read It Online by entering a formal case citation.
- Consult Introduction to Basic Legal Citation or LII's explanatory materials.
Verdict
LII brings legal texts, research tools, and explanatory materials together in a free web resource. It can help readers find and understand legal information, but not provide advice or personalized research help.
Questions
Is the Legal Information Institute free?
Yes. Its Free access plan costs nothing, and legal information and collections are available to the public free of charge.
What legal materials does LII cover?
Its collections include the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, state regulations, Supreme Court opinions, and federal rules. Listed jurisdiction coverage includes U.S. federal law, all 50 states, and selected world law.
What citation tools does LII offer?
Read It Online accepts a formal case citation and links to free and paid resources for judicial opinions. LII also provides Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, a free alternative to the Bluebook.
Can LII provide legal advice?
No. LII says it cannot provide legal advice, interpretations of law, or personalized legal research or school project help.
Which platform is available?
LII is available on the web.
Who maintains Introduction to Basic Legal Citation?
LII co-founder Professor Peter Martin maintains the guide.
Facts from Legal Information Institute's own pages
- Audience
- LII describes its work as making legal information more findable and understandable for the public. · about.law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Citation resolver
- Read It Online lets users enter a formal case citation to get hyperlinks to free and paid resources for judicial opinions. · about.law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Enriched legal data
- LII identifies, extracts, annotates, indexes, and presents features in government-published legal data. · about.law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Explanatory content
- LII creates original materials including Wex, Supreme Court Bulletin previews, and case summaries in its Gender Justice Collection. · about.law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 1992 · law.cornell.edu, 28 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- Ithaca, New York, United States · law.cornell.edu, 28 Sept 2026
- Legal citation guide
- Introduction to Basic Legal Citation is a free alternative to the Bluebook and is maintained by LII co-founder Professor Peter Martin. · about.law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Legal collections
- The site provides collections including the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, state regulations, Supreme Court opinions, and federal rules. · about.law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Licensing
- Special licensing or redistribution terms can be requested through the permissions category in LII's contact form. · law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Payments
- LII says it does not sell products or services through the website, and PayPal collects donation credit card numbers rather than LII. · law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Privacy and security
- LII says it takes steps to safeguard personally identifiable information but cannot guarantee electronic data will never be accessed or released inconsistently with its policy. · law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- LII publishes law online for free and creates materials to help people understand it. · law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- State regulations
- LII makes regulations from all 50 states plus Washington, DC available with enhanced features and functionality. · about.law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Support limit
- LII cannot provide legal advice, interpretations of law, or personalized help with legal research or school projects. · law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
- Technical help
- Users can report site problems through the contact form, and LII says most problems with dysfunctional scripts or software are fixed right away. · law.cornell.edu, 4 Oct 2026
Where Legal Information Institute stands on Freedom251
- Legal Research Software#16 of 31